In the Ghetto

Amos Lassen

Darryl Wayne gives is a book that is brutal in its honesty and that holds the reader captive. It is the story of an inner-city ghetto where a young boy suffers poverty, self-hate and molestation. Our narrator tells us his story in 39 chapters and this is not easy to read. He is a boy who is in search of who he is after a life of being raped on a regular basis. Most of us are familiar with the struggle of life but I doubt many, if any, of us have had to endure what our narrator has. His life is one of risk-taking and we are there with him as he struggles to accept himself and to be accepted by others.

I must admit that from the moment I began to read, I could not close the book. It is a harrowing look at abuse and this is a book that should be read by all. There are problems with the construction and style but the story is so riveting that it makes no difference. It is on one hand a heartbreaker and on the other, a look at redemption.